Ten TSX Venture Tech Stocks Trading at or Near 52 Week Lows

Shares of semiconductor player Dynex Power fell after announcing a$1.4-million writeoff.

At the Cantech Investment Conference in Toronto in January, Paradigm Capital’s Barry Richards said 2014 was going to be the year of smallcap tech.

The former analyst turned banker noted that even though tech has been pacing the TSX in recent years, the bulk of the work was being done by large and midcap stocks. Smallcap tech, he noted, was actually down in 2013. 57% of them, in fact, were in the red last year.

It’s early days, but Richard’s prediction appears to be playing out. Stocks like FLYHT Aerospace (TSXV:FLY) and Sylogist (TSXV:SYZ) have soared this year. In fact, a commonly heard lament is that of investors who says they missed out on this tech or that tech, before it took off.

While most techs are indeed doing better than they have in years, it isn’t a clean sweep. We count down some of the laggards. We rank the TSX Venture Exchange stocks that have stalled out of the gate in 2014. These companies are ranked according to how closely they are trading to their 52-weeek low.

Shares of semiconductor player Dynex Power fell after announcing a $1.4-million write off related to cost increases of a die supplied to its partner Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric, for use in China’s railway market. But CFO Bob Lockwood said the situation was overshadowed a third quarter in which it returned to an operating profit. The company, however, says the writedown will mean a return to losses in Q4.

Brossard, Quebec’s ZoomMed has zoomed to new highs, yet its stock continues to languish. In fiscal 2013, the company Earned $1.42-million on revenue of $7.85-million, tripling 2012′s topline of $2.61-million. ZoomMed develops and markets a range of of computer applications designed for healthcare professionals. The company’s ZRx Prescriber is a web app that allows doctors physicians to use a mobile device to write and deliver prescriptions

A perking up to a high of $1.70 last May, shares of Vancouver founded but Toronto-based Versapay have trailed off of late. The company, which provides cloud-based merchant payment services, saw a change at the top when software vet Craig O’Neill replaced Bill McGill as CEO last September. In January, O’Neill managed to shore up the company’s balance sheet with a $5-million bought deal financing with Mackie Research Capital.

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Jemtec, a North Vancouver-based provider of compliance monitoring solutions for the Canadian justice and immigration systems basically trades by appointment, with just 2.4-million shares outstanding. The company designs and sells electronic and alcohol monitoring devices.

Abbotsford-based Gatekeeper Systems need look only a few miles down Highway 1 to see that peer Avigilon is soaring in a way that its own shareholders can only dream of. But Gatekeeper, which provides high-res video for security and mobile apps, is not only a consistent money loser, it’s topline is relatively miniscule. There are signs of life though; in January the company posted Q1, 2014 revenue of $1.57-million, double the topline of 2013’s first quarter.

Quebec-based Clemex designs and sells image analysis software for a variety of industries, but the company’s wheelhouse is in life sciences. Its optical microscopy products deliver size and shape measurements for quality control purposes. The company’s CEO, Clement Forget, struck a realistic tone after the company reported a loss in its second quarter. “Despite a catch-up in our traditional activities at International, our sales still suffer from the uncertainty in the manufacturing sector, more specifically with capital investment in the US,” he said.

How the mighty have fallen. In 2011, Intertainment Media raced to $1.51 on the promise that its Ortsbo translation platform would revolutionize the way people of different languages communicated. But in the face of continued losses and dilution that has stretched the company to nearly 400-million shares outstanding, the stock has been battered. What’s more, the company’s cash position is now dangerously low.

Late in 2013, Richmond B.C-based Advent Wireless broke a steady multi-year run in its stock and faltered after reaching a high of $2.12. The consistently profitable Advent is an authorized dealer for Rogers and Fido.

Calgary’s Blackline GPS sells products that combine wireless technology with GPS. Its offerings range from a monitoring and recovery service for vehicles and watercraft to an employee safety product. In February, the company closed a $3.5-million financing management says will help it accelerate product development.

Valdor is a fiber optic components company that specializes in next-gen generation fiber optic connectors. The company sells splitters, couplers, patch cords, cable assemblers and termination kits to the mining and metals and aerospace industries. In February, the company acquired Texas-based Videoware. CEO Elston Johnston explained the rationale behind the move. “We are acquiring an asset that is in a great business sector and that has industry leading product lines,” he said. In addition to a business in its growth mode, we are acquiring a strong, experienced and motivated management team. We are confident we have both the team and product lines to aggressively grow this business. Our new portable GoStream line is in high demand and we are just now beginning to deploy it.”

About Nick Waddell

Cantech Letter founder and editor Nick Waddell has lived in five Canadian provinces and is proud of his country's often overlooked contributions to the world of science and technology. Waddell takes a regular shift on the Canadian media circuit, making appearances on CTV, CBC and BNN, and contributing to publications such as Canadian Business and Business Insider.